Relax in a Lush Tokyo Oasis Full of Cherry Blossoms

Hotel Chinzanso provides a luxury stay with a mist-filled garden and historic pagoda.

Its garden are some of the most beautiful in Tokyo , lush with sakura ( cherry ) Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree and quiver with fireflies . In their midst , a foggy art induction smother a historic pagoda . When you wear upon of fresh air , a spa with a sway - linedonsenawaits , as do luxury suite . No , it ’s not heaven ; it ’s iconicHotel Chinzanso , where guests have sought heartsease — and a one - of - a - kind Tokyo experience — for centuries .

The first thing you might observe upon arrival is that the hotel smell antic . It ’s the kind of subtle , calming aroma that makes you sniff double , all the salutary to appreciate the promissory note of camellia , natsumikan citrus , cypress tree , and kuromoji tree . While it ’s not wholly unheard of for opulence hotel to smell out unbelievable ( there ’s a whole cottage industry around scent branding ) , Chinzanso ’s signature fragrance nod to the hotel ’s story .

It takes 100 to build a modern metropolis refuge — so , some quick backstory , before I take you for a tour . Before the hotel make its own bus stop and a place in the pantheon of five - star Tokyo hotel , the ground it stands upon was a fourteenth - 100 proto - tourism daub , where savage camelia flourished . The state rapidly changed hands across the 100 , come along in aOne Hundred Famous Views of Edoprint , and fall under ascendance of the Kuroda clan of the Kururi feudal domain . In 1868 , it received the name “ Chinzanso , ” meaning “ Guest house on camellia hill . ” A mansion was build on the property , and the modern gardens were create in 1948 as a pleasant recourse from war - torn Tokyo .

Gardens and pagoda at Hotel Chinzanso

ホテル椿山荘東京（Hotel Chinzanso Tokyo)

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Today , the gardens are free to claver if you ’re not in the humor to blast out over $ 400 per night on housing . While the building itself is gorgeous ( Who knew lift chandeliers were a thing ? ) , the real novelty is the grounds , with so many sort ofsakura treesthat they justify an audio guide . If you ’ve ever desire to see the sakura flush , this is an excellent place to do it , with the different varietal stretching the inflorescence season over two months rather than the common two week . you may bilk Benkei bridge , located on a tiny man - made river lined with cedar and bamboo to advance firefly , or halt to look up to the Stones of Rakan , eerie human - comparable carving originally housed at domiciliate at the Sekihoji temple in Kyoto before being rehomed in 1925 . It ’s as epical a post as it is meditative .

But the real star of the show is the Entsukaku Pagoda . Located on the magniloquent gunpoint of the garden , the ninth century pagoda , make a motion into Tokyo in 1920 , overlooks all the action . Forphotography nutsand Instagram fiends likewise , it also pass to be utterly frame in by the Sea of Clouds , Hotel Chinzanso ’s brumous art installation . illumine pink during the sakura bloom ( perhaps the most neon hue you ’ll see during the time of year ) , it double in density during the summertime to act as a cooling broker , and is even perfumed during the fall to company vibrant dusk colors . It ’s a backdrop so otherworldly that it is n’t unusual to see newlyweds and high shoal grads in traditional kimono using the garden and mist as a portrayal backdrop . Is it any wonder , then , that I spent the absolute majority of my visit in the garden , just vibing ?

Chinzanso is one of the rare place in Tokyo where you ’re sheltered from the haphazardness of the urban center , but for those who do n’t have an endless care couple for walking in a garden , kimono fittings , Japanese calligraphy lessons , origami shop , samurai training session for groups , taiko drum workshop , and tea ceremonies are also on offer . Every element of your stay is designed for both maximum relaxation and immersion into Japanese cultivation .

Rooms come in Japanese modern and “ classic ” westerly purpose . I was assigned at western - trend room , where I made use of both the oversized bathing tub and L’Occitane Citrus Verbena toiletries . But there ’s a nicer elbow room to get clean at Chinzanso : the health spa .

YU , THE SPA is one of the braggy spa in Tokyo , and in addition to all the treatment one might await , it also houses a arresting rock - describe onsen . Yes , you have to get au naturel and scrub yourself from head to toe in gild to try the sex - segregated Japanese pool . But given YU , THE SPA ’s depressed light and light attendance , it ’s the perfect place for traditional bathing novice .

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When you ’ve relaxed your way into an appetite , there ’s plenty to eat . Breakfast come in both Nipponese and Western varieties , and there are nine eating house to choose from , browse from Japanese to Italian . And oh , there are desserts , too .

On one particular social occasion , I treated myself to a blood-red bean and Matcha Mont Blanc , and looked out from my top story window into the garden , choke an urge to stifle a laugh . Centuries ago , Chinzanso was establish as a place of resort and relaxation behavior . And now so many class later , I ’m still destitute to incline into my lucre - buzz blissfulness and enjoy the calm of the gardens . Who says chronicle does n’t repeat itself ?

Gardens with cherry blossoms